Waste and overflow fitting



July 26, 1949.

P. F. DONAHUE WASTE AND OVERFLOW FITTING Filed June 12, 1946 IN VEIVTOR. [fondue Faintin- Patented July 26, 1949 WASTE AND ovEnFLoW FITTINGPatrick F. Donahue, Waterbury, Conn, as slgnor to Scovill ManufacturingCompany, Waterbury, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Application June12, 1946, Serial No. 676,212

- 16 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to improvements in waste and overflowfittings, and has for an object certain improvements over theconstruction illustrated and described in my co-pendingsimilarly-entitled application filed August 31, 1944, Serial No.552,049, now matured as Patent No. 2,444,340, dated June 29, 1948.

In common with the objects and announced purposes set forth in thespecification of my prior application aforesaid, the present inventionhas for its purpose to provide a fitting for the over flows of bath tubsand the like so constructed and arranged that the internal parts andorganization thereof are not revealed but on the other hand are mostcompletely concealed behind the mask of a face plate which will resistremovability by the vandalism of those not instructed in the interiorconstruction of the fitting and not instructed in the plumbers art butwho are casual laymen frequenting hotels and other public places wherebath tub and other kindred fittings are required and which are therandom prey to such persons.

Hotel guests will remove anything from public places that is notpermanently aflixed or so obsoured and unobtrusive as to fail theirattention, and it is accordingly another object of the invention to soconstruct and arrange the waste pipe fitting of a bath tub or the likethat a face plate of extremely plain character is so mounted as to fullyconceal all internal parts but at the same time afford ample port areafor the effiuent overflow liquid from the tub, and further soconstructed and arranged in its relationship and cooperation with theparts of the fitting by which it is carried that it fails to give anyclue to the uninitiated as to how it is afiixed in place, and moreparticularly how it may be removed from the permanent parts of thefitting.

The invention aims to achieve the foregoing obiects by a constructionessentially simple and having desirable characteristics of leakproofness and adaptability to inclinations of tub wall com paratively tothe stand or overflow pipe.

With the foregoing and other objects in view the invention will be morefully described hereinafter and will be more fully pointed out in theappended claims. x

In the drawings in which like parts are denoted by similar referencecharacters throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary vertical section taken through a bath tub witha drain and overflow fitting illustrated in edgeelevation as constructedin accordance with the present invention.

Figure .2 is .a front elevation of the improved fitting, removed fromthe bath tub, taken on an enlarged scale, and with parts broken away andparts shown in section.

Figure 3 is a vertical central section taken on the line 3-.-3 of Figure2.

Figure 4 is a horizontal section taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2. t

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the face plate holder.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary vertical section taken through a portion ofthe bath tub wall, overflow pipe and the parts of the invention shown indisassembled relation. and

Figure 7 is an edge elevational view of a form of face plate employed.

Referring more particularly to the drawings til designates generally abath tub having a drain H and an overflow 12. A conventional form ofdrain plug is shown as closing the drain ll and as coupled to acustomary captive chain It.

As shown to best advantage in Figure 6 the bath tub iii is provided withan overflow opening 15 with which the upper end of the overflow pipe i2communicates. The upper curved or elbowed end of the overflow pipe -I 2passes through regis- .tering openings it and I7 in a retainer ring itand gasket 19 respectively. The gasket I9 may be of rubber or some othercompressible material and may be of a conventional ring type of rubbergasket.

The ring body ofthe gasket has a radial depth in relation to the tubopening 45 and the diameter and radial dimension of the ring t8 thatsubstantial radial portions of the gasket l9 overlap the rear edge I3 ofthe overflow opening 15 of the bath tub it) in both inner and outerdirections. Otherwise stated the diameter of the opening ii in therubber gasket i9 is substantially smaller than that of the diameter ofthe tub overflow opening l5, while the overall diameter of the resilientgasket l9 substantially exceeds the diameter of the overflow opening [5.Such construc tion affords ample quantities of the gasket material at.both inner and outer sides of the annular rear edge 13 of the overflowopening it.

The retainer ring 18 is of rigid metal or other suitable material havingthe rearwardly divergent annular flanges 20 and 22. The body of theretainer ring I8 between these flanges 2i! and 22 is preferably flat fora substantial radial distance although the flanges 20 and 22 might meettogether in an elbow or angular formation. It is preferred that theopening l6 in the retaining ring It be of a diameter approximating thatof 3 the opening I? in the gasket it although it may be somewhat greateror lesser in diameter. Also the overall diameter of the retainer ring itis preferably somewhat in excess ofithe diameter of the tub overflowopening l5. Annular edges or ridges 23 and 24 are formed between thedisc body of'the retainer ring l3 and its two *flanges 2t and 22. Theradial distance between the ridges 23 and 24 marks oif the disc or flatportion of the retainer ring It and the outer diameter of this discdefined by the edge 23 is somewhat less than the diameter of the bathtub overflowopenin-g l5 to the end that the forward face of the diagonalouter flange 23 will be presented'at substantially right angles to'therear edge lil of the overflow opening l5. 0n the other hand the forwardflat face of the inner diagonal flange 22 which also engages the gasketW in the assembled position ofjithe parts as shown inFigure 3 liessubstantiallyparallel to the outwardly flanged endZl of the overflow.pipe E2.

the diameterof the'openings It and ll in order to provide for a propersealing joint at this upper 62 before it is attached to its connection,there being no flange at the bottom end of pipe l2, and moved upwardlyto a position to engage th outer face of the flange 2i. I

On the inside of the tub 'is arranged the face plate 2'5 and the face"plate holder 26. This holder, as shown more particularly in Figure 5,may be made of asheet metal stamping of relatively heavy material of'agenerally disc form having a plurality of arms 27, 28 and 29 of whichthe arm El is lowermost while the upper arms 28 and 29 may beoutstretched diametrically in a substantiallyhorizontal line althoughthis is not essential. The arms carry segments 36, Si and 32;Thesesegments are all separated circumferentially so as to allow for aproper drainage, through this spider holder plate 26. Furtherm'orefthespaces between the segments allow ample room for the plumbers fingers inholding and adjusting the holder 26 in making the assembly with th rearring l8. Offset arcuate beads 33, 38 and 39 in the segments act tostiffen and reinforce the holder 26 against any resiliency or bendingaction. Slots 3 are made in the beads 38 and 39 of a width substantiallycorresponding to the shanks of the attaching screws ttbut narrower thanthe screw heads 35 to prevent the heads pulling through the slots. Asshown in Figure Sthese slots 34 open through the adjacent edges of thebeads 38 and 3% to permit assembly of the holder 26 to the screws by alateral sliding motion of the holder 26; The screws 35 pass through thegasket I9 and are threaded in the threaded bossesdl which are built upby additions of metal stock to the rear channel like trough of theretaining ring l 3.

Flanges HM and t2 are carried upon the outer edge portions of thesegments-3!], 3i and 32, these flanges beingarcuate and adapted totightly receive an annular flange i3 projecting rearwardly from the faceplate 25 which is also preferably of sheetmetal possessing certaininherent resiliency. The flange 43 of the face plate is cut away orprovided-with slots 44 in its lower quadrants op-. posite the cut-awayportions in the lower part of the holder 26 at opposite sides of thebottom radia1 arm 2?; These slots 44 in 1 cooperation with The'overalldi r ameter of the flange 2! is somewhat greater than the removedportions at the lowerquadrants afford egress to the overflow water inthe tub ID.

A lug 45 divides the slots "44 and is givenan inward cant 43 in theradial direction toward the center of the fitting so as to increase itsfrictional factor of grip upon the flange lEl when the face plate 25 isassembled upon the holder or spider 2a. The flange 43 i also providedwith one or more indented portions ll preferably in areas bordering uponthe slots 44, which indented portions are; adapted to increase thefrictional grip upon th'e flanges 4i and 42 of the holder or spider 2S.V

A'slot til in the lower flange id is adapted to receive the chain Id.The flanged retainer fing l8 may be conveniently made as a cast ring ofchannel construction, except at the places where the attachin-g screws35 are assembled to the ring} Here built-up sections 3'! of the ring aremade as integral parts of the castingthrough which are tapped theholesfor the screws 35.

In the present application-thegas'ket it is an ordinary annular washerwhich replaces" the gasket of my prior application which was odd shapeand therefore more expensive.

In the present'applicationthe" spider member or holder 26 may be ofashee't metalstamping which takes the placeofthecasting of the priorapplication. I

It will be noted that the cap member 25 has no screws or even -the{ headof; a screw showing on its external face which is completely and perfectly plain. The'openings 54 are provided in the flanged portion Q3 ofthe cap to facilitate better drainage. The cap -me nber or faceplate 25is held in place in -that its flange at has a slip fit overthe flangesiil; lllfyandtg of the spider arms, r

From an inspection of Figure 2 3 it will be understood that the lug 165that divides the slots or openings it in theflange 43 of the face plateis on center so'as not to'interfere with the bead chain i l when the capis assembled in place. The face plate 25is entered upon the holder 25 byoriginally rotating the face plate 25 to a posi tion where the lug t'istothe-right of the bottom flange it in which'casethefleftl'landindentation a? will be opposite the spacelbetween thelower arm 2? and theleft projecting ny 2%. In this position the faceplate 251s forced axially in ward so that its flange 6?; fits over theflanges ll and 22 of the holder Subsequently the face plateEl'iisrotated Lina clockwise'direction through an angular distancesubstantially equal to the width of -thelug,4E-so as to bring this lugto the position indicated in Figure 2 in which it laps substantially thelower-right hand half of the lowerflange lfirits leadlng edge stoppingshort of the chain This 'clockwise'rotation also moves theleft'mdentation 47 up upon the lowerleft hand areaof the holderflangeriZ. The

crimpe'd or indentediportions tlithusclamp the flanges ll and 52 while'the inwardly canted portion hi of the lug lfi frictionally engages theright hand portion of the lower flange fill. Due to the indentations andresiliency of the face plate, the frictional binding between the "partswill be enhanced. The fact that the oantedj'parts it and 37 are adjacentthe slots{414also enhances, the resiliency throughWhichtheseparts gripthe flanges 30, ll and 42 of the holder 26..

It will be noted{that]the"slots fi are notcut all/the Way thf0iighthe""'flan ge' @310 tneflcusc of the face plate 25 but tli'at such slotshave ja forward wall which 'is 'ada'pted to engage be-' tween beads ofthe chain l4 and push the. chain to the position shown in Figure 3 inwhich such chain is locked in the slot 48. In other words that part offlange 43 which is not removed by the slots it engages the outer portionof the flange iii. i

In use, the overflow is caused to flow around the outer plain andimperforate disc of the face plate 25 to the flange is at the sidethereof where such overflow may enter through the slots M and passthrough the openings between the arms of the holder 2t, thence throughthe opening it in the bath tub id and directly into the open elbow endof the overflow pipe [2.

When installed the unit exposes no visible screws but all that one seesis the entirely plain round ornamental flat plate 25 which conceals thefact that there are screws 35 beneath and which is held so tightly inplace by the indentations t? and canted portion id in cooperation withthe flanges 453, ii and 42 of the holder 25 that such face plate can notreadily be removed and it has no gripping surfaces for this purpose. Thefact that the face plate 25 is rotated into and out of place is a matterof mystery to the ordinary layman who will thus be confounded in hisinexpert efforts to remove the same.

The invention in one phase resides in the unit provided by theassociation of the face plate 25 and the holder 26 and in thisaspect itis in1- material what type of gasket 01' retainer ring or other memberthat may be used in rear of the tub to connect with the overflow pipeiii.

In another aspect the invention consists in the combination of thepeculiarly shaped retainer ring ill with a plain ordinary washer is inrelation to the bath tub opening 15 as described; and this withoutrelation to the specific type of holder and face plate employed.

In still another aspect the invention comprises the combination of theunits which are in front of and behind the bath tub wall IE with thescrews 35 which form the connecting means between these related andcooperating couples.

The presence of the flange 43 enhances the mystery of the constructionand assembly of the fitting in that prying eyes or probing instrumentsare excluded. thereby from gaining any access which would be successfulin solving the problem of removing the face plate The radially inturnedresilient lip 46 is shown in Figure 2 as interlocking behind the lowerholder segment 39, the lug 55 not appearing in this figure as it is inthe same plane with the face plate flange 43. This Figure 2 also showsthat the lug ie and its spring lip it are ofa circumferential widthgenerally comparable to one-half that of the bottom flange id of theholder 26,;it being understood that the lug 45 engages only that half ofthe flange til that lies between slot 48 and the right hand edge of theflange 46. When the face plate 25 is rotated clockwise into place theleading edge of the lug 45 will contact the link between the two outerballs of the chain [4 if need be to act as a stop in the interlockedposition of the face plate on the holder.

As shown in Figure 3 the annular ridge 23 of the retainer ring I8because of its smaller diameter than that of the bath tub aperture l5pinches the resilient material of the gasket at an intermediate portionof its mass between such ridge 23 and the rear corner portion of theaperture l5; so that the mass of the washer body is separated into innerand outer portions. The outer portion is shown as substantially wedgeshape in cross section and is adapted to be rotated up against the rearwall of the bath tub ID at that portion surrounding the aperture id. Theinner portion of the gasket mass which confronts the flat disc i8 of theretainer ring which forms the central portion of this ring is pushedinto the aperture by the advancing retainer ring and the upper portionof this inner mass tends to rotate clockwise about the rear edge ofaperture l5 and up against the wall of the aperture. A third mass of thegasket is encountered by the inner flange 22 and deflected downwardlyand compressed against the wall of the overflow pipe 12 and against theflange 2 i. Thus the gasket I9 is readily deformable into these threeseparate fractions by the peculiar conformation of the sealing ring itin its relation to the diameters of the ap ertures l5 and H.

It will further be noted that the holder 28 cooperates with the retainerring is in the act of exerting forward pressure against the gasket isbecause of the screws or other fastenings 35 which engage both holder 26and retainer ring it. When the holder firmly engages the bath tub wallat the front side of the opening if) it forms a stiff and rigid abutmentfor the heads 36 of the screws 35 to take against. The tightened screws35 thus have a forward thrust movement tending to pull the retainer ringit against the gasket iii. The elastic gasket l9 reacts to force thisholder 25 firmly against the front wall portion of the bath tub. Theface plate and its rim may also be of metal which is inherentlyresilient to cooperate in the resilient snap action of the lug andindentations in moving into and out of inter locking relation with theholder.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in thedetails of construe tion and design of the above specifically describedembodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof,such changes and modiflcations being restricted only by the scope of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An overflow fitting comprising a spider holder having spaced members,and a face plate having a slotted flange removably supported on saidmembers, the slot of the flange adapted to register with a space betweensaid members.

2. An overflow fitting comprising a spider holder having spaced memberswith reinforcing flanges, a face plate having a slotted flange withinwardly-offset portions adapted to slip over said reinforcing flanges,the offset portions adapted to inwardly grip said reinforcing flanges.

3. An overflow fitting comprising a holder of rigid metal having radialarms circumferentially separated and carrying segmental portions havingraised beads and terminal flanges, said beads having open ended slots,and a face plate having a flange adapted to seat with a slip fit uponthe flanges of said holder and having means to interlock with theflanges of the holder, and fastening means for securing said holder inplace positioned to be received by the slots in said beads.

l. An overflow fitting comprising a holder having spaced segmentalportions with rigid flanges, and a face plate having a flange adapted toslip over the flanges of the holder and be rotated thereon, said faceplate flange having inturned portions adapted to frictionally engagewith said holder flanges and place the holder under tension.

5. For use with an apertured bath tub Wall and an overflow pipe, acompressible gasket: of conventional form surrounding the overflow pipeand adapted to engage against the corner of the aperture .with'portionslying radially inward and outward of such corner, and a retainer memberadapted to slide on the overflow pipe and movable against said gasket toforce it against the edge of the aperture, said member having an annularridge of smaller diameter than the edge of the aperture.

6.; For use with an apertured bathtub wall and'an overflow pipe,'asealing device comprising a'tcompressible gasket of conventional crosssection adapted to seat against an edgeioftheaper .tur'e with portionsthereof lying'inwardly and outwardlyof such edge, and a retainer memberfor forcing said gasket against the edge andhaving a flange retreatingbackwardly from the gasket at the outer edge portion of. the retainermember. 7.:A sealing device as claimed in claim 6 characterized by thefact that said flange is rearwardly. divergent and its forward edgewhich merges with the body of the retainer inember constitutes anannular ridge lesser in diameter than the diameter of the aperture.

8. A sealing device as claimed in claim 6 where in a second inner flangeretreats rearwardly from thelbody portion of the retainer member and ispositioned to engage the inner body portion the gasket andcompressthese-me against the overflow pipe.

, .9; A sealing device as claimed in claim 6 in which the: retainermember has a second inner flange and a body portion of disc form joiningthe ,forward annular edges of said flanges, said body portion having aflat forward face presented to-an intermediate portion of the gasketbody, the-gasket being pinched between the edgeof the aperture'and theedge between the outer flange and the body portion of the retainermember to produce an outer ring gasketsubstantially wedge shape in crosssection and adapted to flt against the rear wall of thebath tub, anintermediate body of gasket material fo'rwardly aloout the body portionof the retainer memberwlth apart adapted to seat against the internalwall ofthe aperture and a third portion of gasket material adapted to becompressed by theinner flange against said'overflow pipe. V .'-1 0, A,sealing device asclaimed inclaim 5 in which the retainer member is'inring form-havingabody portion and an inner flange in addition to saidouter flange, said flanges joined to the body portion by spaced annularridges: 3

11. For use with an apertured bath tub wall and an overflow pipe, anoverflow fitting comprising a compressible gasket adapted to seatagainst the rear edge of the aperture, retainer means extending aboutthe overflow pipe and constructed andarranged to force said gasketagainst the 12. An outlet fitting as claimed in claim 11 characterizedby the fact that the fastenings are screws which engage the tapped nutportions in said retainer ring which is in channel form. a 1

13. An overflow fitting comprising a holder having circumferentiallyspaced flanges, one flange being slotted, a chain .detachably receivedinthe slot, aface plate having a flange to flt overthe flanges of theholder and having slots for the passage of water. i

14. An overflow fitting comprising a holder having circumierentiallyspaced flanges, one flange being slotted, a chain detachably received inthe slot, a face plate having a'flange to fit over the flanges ottheholder and having slots for the passaged water, one of the flangeportions between-the slots of said face plate serving to interlock saidchain in the flange slot of said holder.

15. An overflow fitting comprising a holder having circumferentiallyspaced flanges, an im perforate face plate having a circumferentialflange with spaced openings, said plate flange fltted over the flangesof said holder, and cooperative means on said plate and holderperinitting assembly by relative rotary motion and to only oneposition-such that the spaced'openings in said plate flange will rest ina downward posi' tion. i

'16. For use with an apertured bath tub wall and an overflow pipe havinga flanged end,'a sealing device comprising a compressible gasket of asize to fit about said overflowpipe. and larger than said tub aperture,and a retaining memberv having wedging surfaces for forcing said gasketagainst the aperture edge and pipe flange as a-means for sealing andflexibly supporting said pipe to said tub wall.

. PATRICK F. DONAI-IUZE;

Name 572,818 Palmer Dec. 8, 1896 1,152,618 Farris, Sept. 7, 19151,618,777.; 'Pasman -4 Feb. 22, 1927 1,704,510 'Muend Mar. '5, 1929 19452,374,642 Bloch: May 1,

